Hohokum Review

I’ve played my fair share of video games in my 20 years of existence, but never have I played a game quite like Hohokum. This indie game coming from Honeyslug is the definition of one of a kind with its unique concept and incredible artistic direction. After playing Hohokum for 5-6 hours, it is still hard for me to explain what it is all about because there isn’t any sense of direction present in the game at all. Hohokum is definitely not for everyone. But, if you are patient enough to get passed the initial confusion and frustration of the game, there is some fun to be had with this beautifully crafted puzzle-exploration game.

Without having any context about anything whatsoever, you are dropped into a game where you play as snake…I think. The first thing that’ll hit you is how colorful the game is. With every direction that your snake takes, it will change color. Plus, the Dualshock 4’s lightbar will light up with the same color displayed on the screen making it a real visual treat. Unfortunately, despite having a great initial charm, you’ll most likely be very confused on what you need to do since no tutorial is given at the beginning or during the entire game. You’ll most likely want to abandon the game, at first, because you won’t be able to make much progress, but, once you make your way passed the opening, Hohokum opens as a much bigger experience. And it’s at that point that it becomes really fun.

Exploration is everything in Hohokum. In fact, it is its only mechanic. At first, it may seem like a game where you simply explore levels to admire their incredible visuals and listen to their soothing music, yet it becomes much clearer once you go beyond your first impressions. While navigating through series of portals, you’ll have to solve puzzle to find all of your snake buddies. You are Hohokum’s story-teller because there isn’t any narrative or linearity within the entire experience. Though, I would’ve appreciated a map because I got lost multiple times within the portals, it would’ve ruined Hohokum’s sense of discovery completely. As for the puzzles, they are as cryptic as they can be. Each area has its own puzzle to solve whether it’s illuminating stuff, helping a weird character gather colored sheets or fixing a roller coaster. They’re all about thinking as well as trying out new strategies and, since you cannot fail at all, you can let your imagination run wild.  All of the puzzles are different and have their own unique setting with bizarre-looking characters and creatures which only increases its intriguing factor.

Once you’ve beaten Hohokum, you may think it isn’t worth it to go back to it and experience its uniqueness and beauty again since you’ll have solved all of the puzzles, but you can go back and try to activate all of the eyes scattered through the levels, which I initially thought was the objective of the game, or try and complete it as fast as you can. Hohokum isn’t the deepest game ever made as it is pretty straightforward once you have figured out what it’s all about, still it can keep you entertained for 8+ hours.

VERDICT

Hohokum needs to be praised for its original vision and how different of a game it is. Though it lacks a lot of depth, Honeyslug’s unique puzzle-exploration game remains one of the weirdest, yet fascinating indie games of the year. Unfortunately, it isn’t for everyone. In order to fully enjoy what Hohokum has to offer, you’ll have to dedicate a lot of time, at the beginning, in just figuring out what you have to do exactly because it is so mysterious. Most people will abandon the game within its opening minutes, but those who continue it will be in for a pure visual treat which is both relaxing and thought worthy.